Applications for headteacher posts are at an all-time low and many vacancies are re-advertised a number of times before being filled. Headship is no longer the preferred choice of many deputy and assistant headteachers, meaning there is now a national shortage of headteachers.

It is easy to be cynical over the value of summits such as the G8 meeting recently concluded in Northern Ireland. After all, this year's meeting was preceded by the erection of fake shop fronts in Northern Ireland to disguise empty businesses, and when Birmingham played host in 1998 the city council sprayed the grass verges green.